Donald Trump’s presidential victory will apparently also be a victory for makers of birth control devices — but not for the women who will use them.
Trump’s generally hostile position on matters of women’s reproductive rights has fanned fears among women that abortion and certain birth control methods will either be outlawed or made too expensive for many under his administration.
Their fears are well founded: Many in the GOP want to see Roe v. Wade overturned, and a dismantling of the Affordable Care Act would deprive millions of any sort of health insurance.
Women have responded quickly to the threats. The Washington Post reports the topic has been given widespread online coverage in the wake of the election, especially in magazines that target women readers.
The Post says writer Sophia Benoit posted a message on Twitter offering to discuss pros and cons of using intrauterine devices (IUDs) and immediately heard back from “some two dozen women.”
The Post article includes the following comment on one popular IUD: “Effective for 10 years, ParaGard, a copper-based IUD, could outlast two terms of a Trump administration.”
In a Huffington Post article that sounded the alarm for women’s reproductive rights under a Trump Administration, news editor Hilary Hanson notes Trump has vowed to defund Planned Parenthood and his vice president-elect, Mike Pence, is “devoted to crushing reproductive rights.”
“That’s why many women are planning to get IUDs, or intrauterine devices, and encouraging others to do so, too. Though IUDs are not necessarily the best choice for everyone, it’s understandable why so many women are urging others to research them,” says Hanson.
A Planned Parenthood spokesperson said in a statement to the Huffington Post that it was “too early to tell if we’ll see an uptick in requests for IUDs as a result of the election.”
Planned Parenthood’s Dr. Raegan McDonald-Mosley adds: “While we truly hope that birth control methods will be available, accessible, and affordable to all women under the Trump administration, we understand people’s real concerns about losing access to birth control, which is basic health care for women.”
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Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
